Intellectual property facilitation centre (IPFC) for MSMEs has been set up in August last year to provide protection to trademarks, copyrights, patents and geographical indications (GI). The centre established at the National Institute for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (ni-msme) is receiving good response on IPR enquiry. 25 IPR filings are expected to take place by March 2011.

N Srilakshmi, coordinator – IPFC, stressed on the need to work on awareness programmes as MSMEs are not aware of their IPR, innovation and protection. She added, “So far, we have received 11 filings from 10 small and one micro industry, including two trademarks, eight national patents and one copyright filing.”

Previously IPR awareness programmes had been conducted by the centre in clusters that included jewelry at Machilipatnam, electronics & IT at Hyderabad, automotive industry at Guntur, bulk drugs & pharma at Patancheru. Around 400 MSME participated in the clusters and so it opens up the scope for research and development when awareness campaigns are carried out in clusters. Srilakshmi said, “We are planning to conduct programmes a mango jelly cluster at Kakinada and at a food processing cluster in Chittoor by January 2011.” A two day IPR awareness seminar is also planned to be held in Hyderabad for animation and IT industries.

The small enterprises often lack technical attorney or in-house attorney for protecting their software that big organizations have. The seminar would help MSMEs learn on ways to protect their product. Already many animation products have been exported from Hyderabad and the need is to protect characters designed by small entrepreneurs.